COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Maryland Surprises No. 1 North Carolina

Joe Smith was his usual impressive self inside, but it was the backcourt of Duane Simpkins and Johnny Rhodes that came up big Tuesday night as eighth-ranked Maryland defeated top-ranked North Carolina, 86-73, at College Park, Md.

Smith had 14 points and 16 rebounds, numbers that have come to be expected of the sophomore center. Simpkins and Rhodes, meanwhile, each scored 21 points and between them had enough big baskets to hold off the Tar Heels.

“Joe Smith showed for us tonight exactly what he does for us as a basketball player,” Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. “The scoring’s nice, but anybody that can get 16 rebounds out there, play great defense and doesn’t worry about how many shots he gets because he had some other people shooting well . . . I think it’s just a tremendous performance by a great player.

“I can’t say enough about our backcourt. They competed against a very good backcourt. They showed up ready to play.”

Maryland, 18-4 overall and 8-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, registered its first victory over a No. 1 team since it defeated North Carolina, 77-72, on Feb. 20, 1986.

The Tar Heels (18-2, 8-2), who had a nine-game winning streak ended, took over the No. 1 spot Monday from Massachusetts and it appears their run won’t be as long as the five-week stretch they were on top of the rankings earlier in the season.

“Like I told everybody, that was an omen,” North Carolina center Rasheed Wallace, who scored 15 points, said of taking over the No. 1 spot. “I didn’t like it.”

Rhodes’ three-point basket with 15:59 to play started a 7-0 run that gave the Terrapins a 54-44 lead. Every time the Tar Heels would get close, Simpkins or Rhodes would come up with the big play to stave off the rally.

Rhodes made four of five three-point shots, Simpkins two of four.

“Rhodes was hitting some long jumpers and it wasn’t like we were just giving them to him,” North Carolina Coach Dean Smith said. “Simpkins had an excellent game.”

*

No. 25 Purdue 78, No. 7 Michigan State 69--Cuonzo Martin scored six of his 28 points in the final 1:21 to help the Boilermakers (16-5, 7-2) to a Big Ten victory over the Spartans (16-3, 8-2) at East Lansing, Mich.

Purdue, which led by two points at halftime, outscored Michigan State, 10-2, in the last 2:37 after the Spartans had gone ahead, 67-66, on a layup by Eric Snow.

No. 16 Villanova 73, Miami 63--Kerry Kittles scored 25 points for the Wildcats (16-5, 9-2) in a Big East victory over the Hurricanes (9-9, 4-7) at Philadelphia.

No. 23 Alabama 65, Southern Mississippi 60--Marvin Orange scored 15 points, including four late free throws, to help the Crimson Tide (16-5) defeat the Golden Eagles (12-7) at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

OTHER GAMES

Adrian Griffin scored 20 points to help Seton Hall (15-6, 6-5) to a 90-87 Big East victory over St. John’s (9-10, 2-9) at East Rutherford, N.J. Felipe Lopez had 25 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for St. John’s. . . . Dion Cross scored 20 points to lead Florida (11-7, 5-4) to an 82-66 Southeastern Conference victory over Georgia (13-6, 4-5) at Athens, Ga. . . . Marlon Garnett scored 15 points to help Santa Clara (17-4) to an 82-53 victory over Sacramento State (5-15) at Santa Clara.